^{Many people who have heard of Dave Rude will know him as the guitarist in Tesla, but before that he was frontman with the Dave Rude Band. Their new album “The Key” was released by Rat Pak Records in the USA on 4th June. Check out the on line store to purchase – they ship worldwide - http://www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/daverude.cfm}

^{I have to admit that I’ve been a big fan of the Dave Rude Band for some time, buying the early EPs (the self titled 2007 release and “Carry Me Home” from 2009) and even a couple of T-shirts!! You’ll also find an interview with Dave from 2011 on the Rock Radio NI website.}

^{Rock fans, and probably music fans in general, can be a narrow minded bunch.  For example, if they buy a CD or go and see Mike Tramp perform they expect to hear White Lion; or expect Danny & Ben’s acoustic show to sound like Thunder live!}

^{Similarly some people might buy the new Dave Rude Band album “The Key” expecting to hear Tesla. But, the Dave Rude Band doesn’t sound like Tesla - and why would it? Whiskey doesn’t taste like beer – but I love both!! What you get with “The Key” is 10 excellent tracks delivered to the high standard that I’ve come to expect from the Dave Rude Band.}

^{Some of the tracks have been made available as free downloads from the Dave Rude Band website over the last couple of years, but it’s great to finally get them on a CD. Favourite tracks would include the title track “The Key”, “Own The Night” and “Charlie Mansion”. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the cover version of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” too.}

^{Check out the Dave Rude Band at https://www.facebook.com/DRudeBand}

^{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

^{I'm not a reviewer but wanted to acknowledge some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI by artists, promoters and labels both within and outside of N Ireland. That was the idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends”. I'm not giving marks or ratings, trying to categorise bands or compare artists. The albums that I’ll be recommending would be those I’d buy myself, so there’ll be a strong focus on “classic rock” sounds; however you wish to define that! What you won’t get is death metal or similar genres. Each to his own, but that ain’t what I choose to listen to!}

^{To be honest I’m not really a big fan of the whole idea of “Reviews” as they’re simply one person’s opinion!!  “NI Rocks Recommends” is therefore just my personal recommendation. Let's just say that if I've went to the bother of writing this, I think it's worth taking a listen to and you’ll be hearing it played on my shows on Rock Radio NI!!}

^{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}